Another Record for Oil

Crude futures soared to a new record high Tuesday amid a combination of dollar weakness, disruptions to Nigerian oil exports and a new energy research report claiming that oil could reach $200 a barrel in as few as six months.

West Texas crude for June delivery advanced $1.98 to $121.95 a barrel late in the trading session at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, it reached $122.73. Brent crude rose $2.35 to $120.34 a barrel.

Reformulated gasoline edged up 6 cents to $3.11 a gallon, and heating oil gained 5 cents to $3.36 a gallon. Natural gas climbed 5 cents to $11.22 per million British thermal units.

Energy stocks followed commodity prices higher. Among the integrateds, ConocoPhillips (COP Quote) advanced 1.7% to $88.65, Chevron (CVX Quote) rose 0.9% to $96.47 and Hess (HES Quote) jumped 7.7% to $116.57.

Forget $200 Oil -- $240 Is Next!

In the oil services space, Baker Hughes (BHI Quote) rose 2.7% to $80.07, Smith International (SII Quote) climbed 2.7% to $80.21 and shares of Transocean (RIG Quote) gained 2.1% to $157.08.

The U.S. dollar fell against most major world currencies Tuesday, which in turn helped lift the price of crude. Oil tends to rise when the value of the U.S. dollar falls because oil is denominated in dollars in international markets.